Illuminated sign



July 11, 1939. J. A. HQWENSTINE ILLUMINATED SIGN FiledOct. 26, 1938Patented July 11,

James A. Howenstine,

PATENT OFFICE 2.135.550 ILLUMINATED SIGN Lima, Ohio, assignmto NeonProducts, 1110., Lima, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio ApplicationOctober2B, 1938, Serial No. 237,079

2Ciaims.

This invention relates: more particularly to advertising signs of theilluminated type, and has for its primary object the production of asimple and eihcient sign of this character, composed of a plurality ofpieces capable of being easily and quickly assembled and securedtogether for use, or of being easily and quickly separated and packed orarranged in compact form for storage or shipment.

Another object of the invention is the production of a sign of thischaracter which is simple and inexpensive in construction and attractivein appearance, is composed of a minimum number of parts, and has meansfor releasably securing the parts together in assembled relation.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description, and from the accompanying drawingillustrating one embodiment thereof, -in

which- Figure 1 is a rear perspective elevation of a sign embodying theinvention in set-up or usable form, and with parts broken away; Fig. 2is a similar view showing certain of the parts separated but inassembling relation and showing, in dotted lines, the rear member inpartially assembled position; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged sections onthe lines 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5, respectively, in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a centralvertical crosssection of the sign in Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview of the members of the sign in separated knocked-down form, anddisposed in packing relation.

Referring to the drawing, I designates the front plate of the sign,preferably of glass, and of a nature to permit illumination from therear to bring out or makeefl'ective advertising or other matterappearing thereon, as well understood in the art. a

The edges of the plate I are received-within the respective sideportions of a border frame 2, the side members of which are of channelor U- form. For the purpose of the present invention, the top member aand the two opposed side mem- 55 bers b-b of the frame have theirchannels of greater width than the thickness of the plate I to provide anarrow space 3 between the rear side face of the plate and the adjacentside flange of the respective frame member.

so A back plate 5 and a top plate 6 have interengagement with each otherand with the frame 2 to cooperate with the front plate I to form a.

box or housing for the illuminating means hereinafter described. Theback plate 5 is of sheet 55 metal or other suitable flexible materialprefer-' ably of an opaque nature, and its depth is substantially equalto the depth of the front plate, while its length or substantial widthis greater than the corresponding dimension of the front plate, so thatthe back plate will assume a bowed 5 form, as shown, when its ends areengaged with the end members b of the frame 2. For the purpose of suchengagement, each end edge of the back plate 5 is formed with anoutwardly angled lip or flange 8 disposed at an oblique angle to theface of the plate and adapted to be inserted within a space 3 providedbetween the frame ,2 and front plate I, as best shown in Fig. 4. Theflanged ends of theback plate 5 may be easily and quickly engaged withor disengaged from the respective end members b of the frame 2, and whenboth are engaged therewith the plate assumes an outwardly bowed formwith respect to the front plate. I

The top plate 6 may be of any suitable stiff material of a thin natureand is of segmental form to adapt it to substantially flt and close thetop opening of the case between the upper edge portions of the plates land 5. It is thus apparent that the top plate 5 has its front edgesubstantially straight to conform to that of the front plate I, whileits rear edge is curved to conform to the curved top edge of the backplate 5. The front edge of the plate 6 is provided with an upstandinglip or flange 9 for engaging up within the space 3 between the top framemember a and plate I, while its rear curved edge is provided with adownturned flange or lip I0 for lapping the top edge portion of the backplate 5 at its outer side. The top edge of the plate 5 is provided witha plurality of upstanding spurs H, in the present instance three innumber, which pass through registering apertures l2 in the top plate 6when the plates are in assembled relation and are then bent over toretain the parts in such relation.

The plate 6, in the present instance, is shown as provided with rings 13to facilitate attaching a hanging cord to the sign. Such plate is alsopreferably perforated, as at I4, for the purpose of ventilation.

The illuminating means, in the present instance, comprises an electriclamp' 15 mounted in a socket I5 that is fixedly carried by a crossbarII. This bar may be'of sheet metal or any other suitable stiff material,and is of U-form in cross-section togive it the requisite strength. Theends of the bar web are extended beyond the side flanges thereof toprovide tongues It! for insertion through registering apertures l9provided in the back plate 5 near its lower edge and adjacent to itsends. The tongues are retained in the apertures l9 by springing actionof the back plate, it being necessary to slightly distort the back platefrom its normal position in order to insert the tongues in theapertures. The bar I! is disposed in rearwardly spaced relation to theplate, I and at its central portion in forwardly spaced relation to theback plate 5; so that the lamp I5 is held substantially centralwithin'the housing formed by the various parts of the sign whenassembled.

It is apparent that the arrangement and manner of connection of thevarious parts of the sign permit such parts to be easily and quicklyassembled for the purpose of use or separated for the purpose ofpacking; that the sign is composed'of a minimum number of parts, andthat in use it may either have its bottom edge resting on a supportingsurface or may be suspended from above.

It is also apparent that when the members of the sign are indisconnected or knocked-down form, they are substantially flat and maybe packed in compact form as illustrated in Fig. 7. This not onlyprovides a sign of simple and inexpensive form and construction, butalso enables it to be shipped m collapsed form at a minimum cost.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specificconstruction, arrangement or 101m of the parts, as it is capable ofnumerous modifications and changes without departing from the spirit ofthe claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent,ris:

1. An illuminated sign having a front member bearing matter to bedisplayed, a bendable back member releasably engaged at its ends by endportions of the front member and held thereby in outwardly bowedrelation thereto, a top member releasably engaged to said front and backmembers and cooperating therewith to form a housing, a bar disposedwithin the lower portion of said housing and releasably engaged at itsends by said back member adjacent to its ends, and an illuminating meansmounted on said bar.

2. An illuminated sign having a front member bearing matter to bedisplayed, a bendable back member releasably engaged at its ends by endportions of the front member and-held thereby in outwardly bowedrelation thereto, a top member releasably engaged to said front and backmembers and cooperating therewith to form a housing, a bar disposedwithin the lower portion of said housing lengthwise thereof and havingreleasable tongue and slot engagement with the lower portion of the-backmember adjacent to its ends, said bar and back member being retained inengagement by the flexed position of the back member which it assumeswhen in assembled engagement with the front member, and illuminatingmeans mounted on said bar.

JAMES A. HOWENSTINE.

